


Son: Brianna

by MiaLyn



Series: Son [4]
Category: Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice, Justice League (2017), Man of Steel (2013)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Breaking the News, F/M, Unplanned Pregnancy
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-07-13
Updated: 2020-07-13
Packaged: 2021-03-05 04:07:37
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,012
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25248145
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/MiaLyn/pseuds/MiaLyn
Summary: Bruce had a lot to tell Diana after a certain visitor popped his head into Hippolyte's bedroom. He did not expect her to have news for him as well.
Relationships: Diana (Wonder Woman)/Bruce Wayne
Series: Son [4]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1324472
Comments: 10
Kudos: 69





	Son: Brianna

**Author's Note:**

> This tie-in happens right after the last chapter of Son, barely an hour or so after Clark announcing Diana’s pregnancy and the events from Hippolyte’s bedroom. I first wanted this to be the first chapter of the sequel, but afterthought, it didn't really fit. So, here you get Bruce and Hip's reaction upon learning another Wayne is on its way.  
> The official sequel of 'Son' has been posted too. Check out ‘Sons and Daughters’ :)  
> Have a good read!

**Son: Brianna**

Bruce paced in the living room for what seemed to be the tenth time. He felt unnerved and tensed, far too agitated for poor Hippolyte. If he and Diana ever had a doubt about their son’s talent as an empath, they were now lifted. The boy was clinging to a cushion, curled on a corner of the couch. He was watching him move wordlessly, clearly influenced by his father’s agitation and the recent events. Bruce would hug him, had he not been worried direct touch would only render his son even more anxious.

_Freaking time travelers and their freaking black holes,_ he thought angrily. _And damn him for not keeping a tight lid on his feelings!_

He forced himself to breathe in and out and asked:

“Do you know where I can find a notebook, Hip?”

He desperately needed to record everything that had occurred and firmly focused on remembering every detail. His memory was usually excellent, but keeping tracks would help here. Hippolyte immediately jumped off the couch, ran into the kitchen and returned with a paper pad and a pen. Bruce took them and thanked him.

“Mother puts down what worries her too,” the boy commented before resuming his spot on the couch. He sounded too quiet, far from the lively boy Bruce had come to know.

He really hoped Diana would return soon. She, at least, would manage to reassure him and hold him without fearing of making things worse. And he needed someone to share his impressions with. He first wrote down the words -‘ _Themyscira! Circe sent them on Themyscira! Find them! Find them before the Amazons kill him! We’re not strong enough to hold our own against her –am I too early?’_. Then he described the man –young to middle-aged, most likely Caucasian. No hint of hair color, just those determined, dark brown eyes and that desperate voice trying to convey a message. And the wormhole, or more like a portal with storms raging inside –electricity?

“Father?” Hip asked in a small voice. “Do you mind if I sleep with you and mother tonight?”

Bruce could definitively not berate him for refusing to stay in that room. He believed Diana wouldn’t either.

“Of course not Hip,” he said, and the boy smiled.

He heard the doorknob turn and creak open. Diana’s footsteps entered the room. Bruce turned around to greet her, and was stunned to see that she too, looked equally worse for wear. Thankfully, in some way, Hip was too distracted to truly notice her state. He ran into her arms, chanting his litany of ‘mother’ and let her pick him for their customary ‘welcome home’ hug. Diana looked pale, as if she had received disturbing news. He wondered how could her conversation with Kent have shaken her, and seriously contemplated paying a visit to the alien to punch him in the face, invulnerability be damned.

‘ _We need to talk_ ,’ she mouthed over Hippolyte’s shoulder, then asked out loud: “How are you my love?”

“Weird,” Hippolyte replied, his voice muffled in her clothes. “There was a man in my room, mother. He said stuff to father and then left.”

Diana immediately shot an inquiring look at Bruce.

“And now did he get here?” she asked, her tone dangerously quiet. A few months back, Bruce could have believed the angry glint in her eye was directed at him. Now, he knew she was preparing herself to wedge war against whoever might have hurt her son.

“I’d bet on time traveling,” Bruce announced. Diana’s stare turned blank.

“Hippolyte,” she said as she put down her son. “Do you mind if Bruce and I have a grown-up conversation?”

In spite of his worry, he couldn’t help but smile a bit. She and he were on the same mind –no matter what would happen, their son would not be allowed into their world just yet. Hippolyte, now calmer, allowed himself to be distracted by his beloved construction blocks but stayed well within their sight. Bruce and Diana settled on the couch and he narrated the episode that had just occurred. He left out no details, starting from the tornado-like portal to the description of the man in red –to his words.

“We need to find Themyscira,” he concluded. “And start some research to figure out who that guy is.” His frown deepened. “I don’t like to think a threat is coming upon us and we don’t know where to start.”

Diana nodded in silence, her gaze a little lost.

“We will have a better chance finding that man than Themyscira,” she said softly. “I tried countless times over the past decades, but I could not find my way. If we are to look for my homeland, we will need a different approach.” She glanced at him. “You wouldn’t happen to know any magic users? I didn’t try magic because Amazons have an odd history with witches and sorcerers.”

Bruce groaned inwardly as he thought of the few people he more or less trusted. Of all picks, he’d have to contact Zatanna. She could, at least, keep a secret.

“I’ll ask around,” he muttered. Now that he had spoken of his troubles aloud, they seemed even longer. Then he recalled she also had a particular expression when she crossed the threshold. “What happened to you?”

“I’m pregnant.”

For a moment, he said nothing. He wasn’t certain he had heard correctly, because this would be the very last thing he expected to happen. Hip was a one-time accident, Diana had romantic relationships before meeting him and nothing ever came out of them. And their lifestyle would not allow another child, between the Bat, her occasional outings and the future mess he felt dangling under their noses thanks to that goddamn messenger. But her expression appeared cautiously neutral, as if she hadn’t made up her mind about the situation either, and the three words dawned upon him like a wall of bricks crashing upon his shoulders.

“ _What_?”

“Kent has super hearing, he could hear the heartbeat,” she went on evenly. “It would bring the conception date back to about-”

“Five weeks,” he said after a quick mental calculation. His head pounded and his chest felt heavy. “Are you sure?”

“I believe him,” she replied. “He has nothing to gain in lying to me.”

Bruce leaned back in the couch as her words sank in. A rational part of him thought that they ought to have a blood test first. But the other part, the one who had started to take Diana’s word for granted, was panicking. A baby. Another baby. Another being of his flesh and blood growing inside Diana, likely another metahuman –another one to protect -and _when has his life become so complicated?_

“Mother? Father? Are you alright?”

Oh shit, he thought. Now they had to break the news to the already-there child. And then tell Alfred. And Dick. And then there was the lake-house –not big enough if he wanted to welcome everyone, what were they going to do-

A small hand touched his, and a warm wave soothed his nerves. He met Hippolyte’s worried eyes before smiling reassuringly. The boy had also reached for his mother, no doubt sensing the same turmoil inside her. The thought helped him breath. They were _both_ into this. Diana must feel as insecure as him, which meant they would be up for another long night of talking, but they would be together. This was nothing to be afraid of, he told himself. This was what happened when you started a family.

“You may soon have a little brother or sister,” Diana announced for them both.

For a brief moment, Hippolyte was silent. Bruce held his breath, waiting for the reaction. He wondered if the little boy could feel his anxiety, his fear. And maybe something else; a more positive feeling he barely felt himself -but knew deep down was there. Yes, his life had turned far more complicated and with Diana and Hip and this new one on the way, he had a lot more to lose. But he hoped their son would understand that in the end…he wouldn’t change it for the world.

Hippolyte slowly released them both and dropped his hands by his sides. His eyes grew wide and his mouth formed a little ‘o’ of surprise. And suddenly, something lightened his expression and a strange gleam appeared in his eyes.

“So when you said you were practicing for a baby, you were really trying to have a baby after all?” he inquired boldly. It took Bruce a moment to take in fully his words but when they sank in, his skin turned a shade of pink. Why, why on earth had he blabbed such a stupid reason when Hip had walked on them two weeks ago? Oblivious to his father’s embarrassment, Hip went on hopefully: “I’m going to be a real big brother? Not just a half a small one?”

The two exchanged a glance and once again, Bruce was grateful for Hippolyte’s spontaneity. Short attention spanned he might be, but at least, he captured their attention and helped them focus on _him_.

“Yes Hip, you are,” he confirmed.

“Neat!” the boy stepped closer to Diana and put his hands straight over her belly. The concentrated expression on his face was almost comical, had Bruce not suspected he was searching for something. “Why I can’t feel her yet?”

“Her?” both parents echoed in various tones of disbelief.

“I want a sister,” he declared determinedly. “I already have a big half a brother.”

Oh boy, Bruce thought.

“We aren’t certain I am expecting a baby yet, and you won’t know until another few weeks,” Diana inputted, but seeing Hippolyte so excited was…reassuring, somewhat. And real. And oh damn, he was going to be a father again. To a _real_ baby this time.

“But it has to be a girl! I already have a name!” Hippolyte protested.

Bruce glanced at Diana to check if her expression of disbelief matched his. Apparently, he was not alone in the _what-the-heck_ department.

“You thought of having a sibling, Hip?” she asked cautiously.

“Yeah! When you say you were practicing for a baby-” Bruce felt his ears redden for the umpteenth time and wondered if that knee-jerk reaction would ever stop- “I thought I wanted a sister. And then, Julie said her mom and dad fought for a baby’s name. So I thought, if I pick one, you won’t fight.”

Bruce suddenly very much wanted to hug his son and given Diana’s matching expression, she thought the same. He still had a hard time to believe sweet little Hip carried half of his genes. 

“Really?” Diana said with a sweet but cautious smile. “And what is it?”

“It’s Brianna! Because father’s name is Bruce and mother’s name is Diana! She can have both your names in hers!”

A third glance was exchanged. Bruce had been spared the first naming process by not being there when Hip was born. Though the news of impending fatherhood had not quite been digested yet, he wondered if things were not going too quickly. Diana had named Hippolyte after her mother. If a girl was to come, should he name her Martha in turn? Or Thomas for a boy? Or had Diana an idea? Damn, he thought, why did Hip’s suggestion sound not that bad?

“But what if it’s a boy?” Diana suggested.

Hippolyte’s attention snapped back upon her stomach. He narrowed his eyes and pointed at it accusingly.

“You better be a girl, ‘cause I don’t want to have to think again for a name! But I’ll think for a name for a boy too, just in case.” Then his countenance softened and he added: “Come here fast baby, I want to meet you soon and then we can play together.” And then he hugged Diana again before returning to play with his cubes, a small but visible spring in his step. His two parents were left behind, speechless, and with a lot to think of.

**Author's Note:**

> I wrote Hippolyte’s reaction according to a cute story a former co-worker told me. She and her husband had been trying for a second child for a while and finally had a baby boy. His older five-year-old brother kept thanking his parents for months (literally months) because he wanted a sibling so much and now he had him :). Hope you enjoyed :)


End file.
